"Number bonds." "Common exception words." "SPAG." If your child's started Key Stage 1, you've had these land in the book bag with a homework sheet and absolutely no translation. Don't worry, I've got you.
I'm Chloe, a primary school teacher and mum of four, and I spend my days teaching this stuff and my evenings helping my own children with it. So let me decode the main maths and English your child meets in Years 1 and 2, in plain English, and show you simple ways to help at home, whether you're a parent or home-educating.
First, what is KS1?
Key Stage 1 is Years 1 and 2, the first two years after Reception (roughly ages 5 to 7). It's the point where children shift from play-based early learning toward the more structured maths and English of the National Curriculum. Here's what that actually means.
The KS1 maths
Number bonds
This is the big one. Number bonds are simply the pairs of numbers that make a total. Number bonds to 10 (6 and 4, 7 and 3, and so on) in Year 1, stretching to 20 in Year 2. They matter enormously because they're the foundation of all addition and subtraction. When a child instantly knows that 6 and 4 make 10, without counting on fingers, every bit of later maths gets easier. A child who's secure here flies. One who isn't rebuilds the basics every single time.
And the rest
KS1 maths also covers money (recognising coins and notes, adding them up), telling the time (o'clock, half past, quarter past and to), and the first steps toward times tables and fractions: doubles and halves, and counting in 2s, 5s and 10s.
How to help: practise number bonds with fingers and snacks ("how many more to make ten?"), play shop with real coins, and let them work through a reusable maths mat as often as they like. That repetition is what makes it stick.
The KS1 English
Phonics
Children carry on learning the sounds letters make (in "phases") so they can decode words by sounding them out.
High frequency words and common exception words
These two go hand in hand, and parents mix them up all the time, so here's the difference, simply. High frequency words are just the words that crop up most often in reading and writing. Common exception words are the tricky ones among them that break the phonics rules. Words like "said", "the", "was", "one". You can't sound them out, so children learn them by sight. There are 45 of these in Year 1 and 64 more in Year 2. They turn up constantly, so a child who knows them reads and writes far more smoothly.
SPAG and sentence building
That's spelling, punctuation and grammar, plus putting words together into proper sentences. Capital letters, full stops, word order. The start of real writing.
How to help: hunt for tricky words while reading together, use the "say it, see it, write it" method for spellings, and let them practise on a reusable words mat. Write, check, wipe, repeat.
What I'd reach for, by year
KS1 splits neatly by year, so here's the guide:
- Year 1 English (5 to 6): our KS1 Year 1 Phonics & Writing Bundle covers it. High frequency words, a phonics pack, SPAG, CVC words and sentence building, with a pen.
- Year 2 English (6 to 7): our KS1 Year 2 English Bundle moves it on. 200 high frequency words, spellings, and SPAG.
- Maths across Years 1 and 2 (5 to 7): our KS1 Maths Bundle brings together money, time, doubles and halves, number bonds to 10, fractions and counting in 2s, 5s and 10s.
Just want one topic? Every mat, number bonds, high frequency words, phonics, spelling, is available on its own, so you can target exactly what your child needs. It's all made by me, a real teacher, gloss film laminated, UKCA tested and built to be used daily and handed down.
A note on ages and years: children learn at very different rates, and the year groups here are a guide, not a deadline. A Year 1 mat may be exactly right for an older child still building those skills, including children with additional needs, and there's nothing wrong with that at all. Go with where your child is now.
KS1 can feel like a real step up, for them and for you, deciphering the book bag. But broken down, it's very manageable. A little playful, regular practice at home, and children take it all in their stride.